TL;DR: Upgrade your listening method with these comfortable new, open-box Sony LinkBuds Open Truly Wireless Earbuds, on sale now for just $89.99 (reg. $229.99).

Opens in a new window

Credit: Sony

Sony LinkBuds Open Truly Wireless Earbuds White (Open Box)

$89.99
$229.99 Save $140

 

Get Deal

Whether you’re on a walk, working at your desk, or just tackling chores around your house, earbuds make it all a little more fun. The Sony LinkBuds Open Truly Wireless Earbuds let you enjoy your tunes and podcasts while staying aware of your surroundings. And right now, they’re on sale for just $89.99.

If you’re in the market for a new pair of earbuds, you don’t have to spend hundreds to enjoy your content comfortably. These Sony LinkBuds Open Truly Wireless Earbuds deliver clear audio, comfort, and peace of mind, so you can stay safe and still hear the world around you.

The Sony LinkBuds Open Truly Wireless Earbuds feature an open-ring design that lets ambient sound through, while adaptive volume control automatically adjusts to your surroundings. This combo makes them an excellent option when you can’t fully tune out the world around you.

The integrated V2 processor delivers a balanced audio experience, while the 11mm ring-shaped driver unit delivers clear sound no matter what you’re listening to.

You can enjoy up to 22 hours of battery life with the charging case, and you can listen that long thanks to the comfortable air-fitting supports that make these excellent for everyday wear. When you run out of battery, the fast power-ups give you 60 minutes of playback with just a 3-minute charge.

You’re saving big on these earbuds thanks to their Open Box status. That means they were likely excess inventory from store shelves, but they have been verified to be in new condition and in clean packaging.

Snag your own pair of Sony LinkBuds Open Truly Wireless Earbuds for just $89.99 today.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

Meta has yet another cute little creature it would like you to get to know.

The company's new app, Waddle World, combines a Tamagotchi-style virtual pet with AI-assisted journaling. Available on iOS and Android only in the Philippines for now, the free app lets adults hatch a 16-bit pixelated pet, feed it, play mini-games, and tell it about their day.

Meta's App Store listing calls it "a daily journal disguised as a pet." Users must be 18 or older.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

How Waddle World works

The setup will feel familiar to anyone who has raised a Tamagotchi. You hatch a digital creature and spend time looking after it, with mini-games such as catching stars, stacking groceries, and solving word puzzles, earning stamps to spend on your pet.

But this creature also wants to hear how your day went. Users can speak or type an update, which the app turns into a journal entry written in the pet's voice, complete with a doodle. That personalized writing and illustration is where AI comes into play, although the listing does not identify the model powering those features.

Over time, Meta says, the pet notices what lifts users' moods or wears them out and brings those details up in later interactions. Daily questions offer prompts for anyone unsure what to share, while weekly email postcards can reference something they previously mentioned.

It's a familiar idea with a different approach to keeping a diary. Finch, for example, already pairs a virtual bird with reflection prompts, daily goals, and breathing exercises. As its slogan goes: "Take care of your pet by taking care of yourself!" Waddle World takes on some of the writing, turning a brief update into something users can revisit.

Meta presents that routine as low-pressure, promising "no pressure, no streaks to protect, no scores to chase." Still, the same description calls Waddle World a "gentle journal habit tracker" and encourages daily check-ins. There may be no leaderboard, but the app gives users plenty of reasons to return.

Meta keeps giving AI a cute face

The little pet arrives shortly after another character joined Meta's lineup. Last month, the company introduced Jolly, the cheerful mascot for its Muse AI agent, alongside a handheld device called Muse Charm.

Meta has not established that Waddle World runs on Muse or connects to Charm. The clearer connection is how these products invite people to interact with technology through a character they can get attached to.

As Mashable previously explored, mascots have long helped tech companies make unfamiliar products feel more welcoming. Microsoft had Clippy, Duolingo has its green owl, and Meta now has Jolly. And don't forget about ChatGPT recently launching an array of adorable Dots. With Waddle World, that familiar design choice could help make sharing personal experiences with AI feel as ordinary as checking in on a pet.

What happens to your personal updates?

The app's App Store privacy disclosure, supplied by Meta, lists audio data and other user content among the information that may be collected and linked to a user’s identity. Both appear under categories for third-party advertising and the developer's own advertising or marketing. (Apple notes that it has not verified the disclosure.)

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

That leaves some details unresolved. The listing does not clarify whether journal entries fall within those advertising categories or whether entries are used to train AI models. It also does not explain what controls users have over the information their pet remembers.

For an app that invites conversations about relationships, routines, and difficult days, those are meaningful questions. The pet's ability to remember a personal detail may be part of its appeal; knowing how to delete that detail should probably be part of the experience, too.

A group of select OpenAI employees will spend Nov. 3 in the AI giant's new midterm election "war room," tasked with monitoring ChatGPT's role in the political machine.

The company announced, via Politico, that it would convene its own Election Operations Center ahead of next week's nationwide elections with the express task of spotting potential misuse of its AI models.

"We’ve put considerable effort [into] ensuring we help users get reliable voting information, combat misuse of our tools, and support election defenders. The Elections Operations Center builds on that years long work, bringing our teams together to respond quickly to emerging issues and enforce our policies as people head to the polls," Josh Lawson, head of civic and strategic risk for OpenAI, told Decoded by Politico.

Other tech giants have diverted resources to election integrity in recent years, including Microsoft's voter education and AI literacy initiative and Meta's $30 billion spend to advance its election security initiatives, following allegations its platforms sowed political discord.

In the midst of the 2024 presidential election, a coalition of tech companies pledged to work together to combat generative AI's potential to undermine global elections. The agreement included commitments to mass public education, more transparent AI policies, and robust detection tools to curb the spread of political deepfakes.

Even so, many remain concerned about AI's role in election disinformation campaigns. According to misinformation watchdog NewsGuard, disinformation campaigns directed by foreign governments have increased ahead of election day, primarily amplified on social media platforms like X. More than half of Americans were fooled by such election misinformation, and X's Community Notes failed to identify more than 93 percent of such posts, according to the organization's research.

A report from the Brennan Center for Justice found that guardrails in major AI models, including Gemini and Meta AI, were failing to prevent the generation of fake election images — ChatGPT was the only model that showed some improvement in curbing photorealistic images, according to the center's findings. But NewsGuard's tests of OpenAI's ChatGPT Images 2.5 found the model repeatedly generated lifelike images of political candidates when prompted.

Meanwhile, a growing number of Americans are leaning on chatbots to help them find polling information, research candidates, and even fill out their ballots.

SpaceXSI (formerly xAI) owner Elon Musk has personally contributed more than $366 million to Republican election efforts ahead of the 2026 election, making him one of the most prolific mega donors in recent history.

Wednesday marked the apex of Apple's "Pro and Tell" week of announcements with the unveiling of the new touch-enabled MacBook Pro. It turns out a touchscreen isn't the only thing this new laptop has in common with iPhones.

Tucked away in the lengthy announcement press release for the "PROLED" MacBook Pro is the reveal that this new laptop feautres a Dynamic Island module, just like modern iPhones. This marks the very first Mac product to come with Dynamic Island. Apple's press release only included a paragraph of information about Dynamic Island on the MacBook Pro, but it did reveal that it's the new home for Siri AI, Spotlight, and Live Activities, similar to how it works on an iPhone.

That's handy. Credit: Apple

If Apple's included screenshots are to be believed, you can also use the Dynamic Island pop-up to control incoming AirDrop transfers and music playback. In all, it seems fairly equivalent to what you can use Dynamic Island for on an iPhone, with one exception: This laptop doesn't have Face ID. You'll still have to use Touch ID for biometric login purposes.

Still, it's interesting to see Apple homogenize its user interfaces across devices even more so than usual. Perhaps future MacBooks will have Dynamic Island, too.

TikTok already helps decide which restaurants get people lining up outside. Now, it wants to help users sort through those recommendations and, in some cases, book a table.

The company announced Must Eat on Wednesday, Oct. 28, a restaurant guide launching in the areas around New York City, Los Angeles, and the San Francisco Bay Area. Drawing on more than 40 million posts, reviews, and comments, the feature gathers restaurants attracting attention on TikTok into city-specific lists.

How TikTok's Must Eat guide works

Must Eat is part of TikTok GO, the app's offering for discovering and booking experiences. Its restaurant lists are divided into Everyday Eats, covering casual spots and neighborhood favorites, and Elevated Dining, for celebrations and other special occasions. Users can filter by cuisine, price, score, and location, explore restaurant pages with related TikTok content, and save places to their existing collections. Select restaurants also offer reservations through OpenTable.

The guide is accessible through TikTok search, the Local feed, restaurant location pages, and location links on videos featuring listed businesses. TikTok says it checks that businesses are open and operating before publishing a list.

"Independent restaurants and local specialties take priority, and no restaurant can pay to be featured," the company said in its announcement.

Much of that will sound familiar to anyone who already keeps a running list of places to eat. Beli lets users rank restaurants, track places they want to try, see where friends are eating, and receive personalized recommendations. Yelp's annual "Top 100 Places to Eat" similarly turns community feedback into a restaurant guide, using factors including review volume and ratings.

Google offers an especially timely comparison. Earlier this month, it introduced its first Fan-Favorite Dining List, using Maps reviews, ratings, and searches for directions to identify dining spots across 10 cities worldwide, including New York and San Francisco. Maps also has weekly dining lists highlighting trending restaurants, neighborhood gems, and established favorites.

FoodTok's influence reaches beyond the feed

TikTok's pitch brings those familiar planning tools closer to the videos that might have sparked someone's interest in the first place. A creator's review, the comments underneath it, videos from inside, and an available reservation can all become part of deciding where to eat within the same app.

For restaurants, that attention can reach well beyond their usual customers. In TikTok's announcement, Ann Redding, co-owner and chef of New York's Thai Diner, described watching diners introduce the restaurant to a wider audience.

"TikTok has given our guests a way to share those experiences with people far beyond our dining room," Redding said. "It’s pretty amazing to watch."

There is data to support TikTok's strategy, particularly among younger diners. In a recent survey, 38 percent of Gen Z respondents reported discovering new restaurants through TikTok, making it that group's leading discovery channel. Social media's influence also extends beyond dedicated food influencers. A 2025 report, based on a survey of U.S. consumers and hospitality operators, found that 69 percent of Gen Z diners relied on social media for restaurant discovery.

TikTok has its own figures, too. Citing PF Global research in the announcement, the company says 27 million Americans visited an independent restaurant, cafe, or shop for the first time after discovering it on the platform in 2025, generating an estimated $4.7 billion in local spending. That estimate includes retail shops as well as dining businesses.

Of course, going viral can mean a lot more people showing up hungry. For Sam Yoo, chef-owner of Golden Diner and Golden HOF, keeping up with that rush took some adjusting.

"When we went viral about three years ago, our team had to adapt quickly, but our focus stayed the same: making great food and taking care of our guests," Yoo said. "I’m proud of how our team rose to that occasion, and grateful that people are still coming through our doors years later."

TikTok has explored turning food videos into meal orders before. As Mashable reported in 2021, the company announced plans for TikTok Kitchen, a delivery concept built around viral recipes. That project stalled, though Virtual Dining Concepts later rolled out a similar offering called "Creators' Kitchen As Seen On TikTok" in 2024. But Must Eat is "cool" and "pretty convinent," at least according to some X users. Though others are more critical, writing complaints like, "finally an app for discovering new lines to stand in," and "tiktok taking the reservation too, wild."

For food creators, Must Eat could give a restaurant recommendation a longer life beyond the feed. For viewers, it could make that place they’ve been meaning to try easier to find when someone finally asks, "Where should we eat?"

Google announced Gemini 4 Carbon, a new frontier AI model that arrives just two weeks after Gemini 4 Argon reached the Gemini app.

In a blog post published Oct. 28, Koray Kavukcuoglu, SVP at Google DeepMind, the company’s frontier AI lab, called Carbon Google’s strongest model yet. (Kavukcuoglu is leading Google DeepMind now that former CEO Demis Hassabis has stepped aside.) The post points to cybersecurity and long-horizon tasks, meaning complicated jobs that take many steps or run for a long time, as Carbon’s biggest strengths.

Already, Gemini 4 Carbon has the top spot in the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, beating out Claude Opus 5.5.

Credit: Screenshot: Artificial Analysis

The pace at which AI companies are releasing new frontier models has accelerated sharply in recent months, as the frontier AI labs race to have the best model available. Anthropic released Claude Opus 5.5 on Sept. 22, OpenAI shipped GPT-6 Astra earlier that month, and Google announced Argon on Sept. 30 before releasing it to Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers on Oct. 13. Each lab has claimed a new lead within weeks of the last.

As with Argon, Google is announcing Carbon well before most people can use it. Carbon is starting with a small group of cybersecurity defenders, and Google hasn’t said when it will reach everyone else. (Last week's PHP2Shell incident shows just how much havoc new AI models could wreak on the internet at large.) Announcing early lets Google claim the top spot on the leaderboards now. It also gives everyone a look at the benchmarks before the next round of releases.

Gemini 4 Carbon: Benchmarks

In Google’s comparison table, Carbon posts the top score on 15 of 17 benchmarks against Argon, GPT-6 Astra, Claude Opus 5.5, and Claude Fable 5.1. All figures in this section are as reported by Google.

Credit: Google

The two benchmarks Carbon doesn’t win are worth noting. GPT-6 Astra still leads on FrontierSWE 2, a software engineering test. Claude Opus 5.5 leads on OSWorld-2.1, which measures how well a model can operate a computer.

A big change from Argon is that Google now reports Terminal-Bench 4.0 scores run by Artificial Analysis, an independent testing firm, rather than its own. For quick context, Terminal-Bench 4.0 measures how well an AI model can complete real technical tasks — like installing software or fixing broken code — by typing commands into a computer’s terminal on its own. It's one of the hardest agentic tests for LLMs.

This is notable because the scores companies reported for each other’s models didn’t always line up with independent testing. On Terminal-Bench 4.0, Carbon jumps about eight points over Argon and moves ahead of Opus 5.5.

Google also says Carbon can work on difficult engineering problems for days at a time. Its web development skills improved enough to climb to fourth place on WebDev Arena, a leaderboard where people vote on AI-built websites.

The Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index

The Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index is one of the most closely watched independent leaderboards for AI models. Artificial Analysis runs a range of tests itself and combines them into a single composite score.

On the newly updated version 5.0, Carbon (high) scores 59, one point ahead of Claude Opus 5.5 (max).

Gemini 4 Carbon's score of 59 is leaps above Argon's 50. Credit: Artificial Analysis

The scores can’t be directly compared to the previous version of the index, where Argon (High) scored 53. A one-point lead is also thin enough that the next release from OpenAI or Anthropic could easily erase it. Carbon and Meta’s Muse Wonder Full are both flagged on the leaderboard as having no publicly available API, so they can’t yet be used outside their companies’ own access programs.

Gemini 4 Carbon: Safety and safeguards

Google says Carbon uses the same safety system as Argon, which includes monitoring the model’s reasoning, and adds more work on alignment, or keeping the model behaving as intended. According to Google’s own testing, Carbon is also better behaved than its predecessor.

Google says Carbon never successfully cheated on Terminal-Bench 4.0, meaning it never found a shortcut that passed a task without actually doing the work, and it tried to cheat only 0.4 percent of the time. During internal coding work, high-severity misalignment alerts, which flag a model acting in ways its developers didn’t intend, dropped by nearly 80 percent. Carbon also makes about half as many unsupported claims as Argon. And on Gray Swan’s prompt injection benchmark, which tests whether hidden instructions can hijack a model, Carbon blocked every attack attempt, improving on Argon’s 0.7 percent attack success rate.

All of these figures come from Google’s own testing.

How to try Gemini 4 Carbon

For now, you can’t use Gemini 4 Carbon unless you’re an approved cyber defender in Google’s Fairwind Program. Starting this week, Carbon is rolling out to a small group of those testers, and Google says it will gradually add more trusted partners. Developers, businesses, and consumers will get access after that, but Google hasn’t given an exact public launch date.

If we use Argon to figure out a timeline, about two weeks passed between its announcement and its arrival in the Gemini app for Pro and Ultra subscribers. Though we won't be able to confirm whether Google will commit to that same schedule for Carbon.

When Carbon does reach the API, Google says it will cost the same as Argon’s introductory price:

• $2 per million input tokens

• $10 per million output tokens

• Cached input tokens at 95 percent off the input price

That keeps Carbon well below its main rivals. Mashable previously reported that Claude Opus 5.5 costs $4 per million input tokens and $20 per million output tokens, while GPT-6 Astra costs $10 per million input tokens and $50 per million output tokens.

Want to learn more about getting the best out of your tech? Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories and Deals newsletters or get Mashable push alerts today. 

The touchscreen MacBook Pro is finally here – and it's pricey.

On Wednesday, Apple unveiled its first-ever touchscreen laptop, the MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display. The starting price for the 14-inch model powered by the M5 Pro chip with 24GB of memory and 1TB of storage is $2,899. While that's quite costly, remember, that's just the base model for the device.

Looking to completely max out all the specs so you have the most premium, top-of-the-line model of the new touchscreen MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display?

That's going to cost $14,549. 

That's right, $14,549.

Just to compare, the latest and most powerful MacBook Pro model without the touchscreen, completely maxed out, comes to a total of $10,149. So, the maxed-out version of the MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display seems to be the most expensive Apple MacBook so far.

What does the maxed-out model include? First, upgrading the MacBook Pro from a 14-inch display to a 16-inch one bumps the starting price up to $3,399.

Then upgrading the standard glass display to the nano-texture glass adds an additional $150.

Next, we're going to upgrade the M5 Pro chipset to the M5 Max, which gives us a total cost of $4,949 so far. When you upgrade to the M5 Max chip, Apple also forces buyers to upgrade from 24GB of RAM to 36GB, which adds an additional $300.

For another extra $300, we're upgrading the processing power from an 18‑core CPU and 32‑core GPU to an 18‑core CPU and 40‑core GPU.

Next, we're maxing out the memory too and going from that previously mentioned 36GB of RAM to 128GB of RAM, which, thanks to the AI-boom-related shortages, adds an extra $2,000 to our total.

And you can thank AI once again for driving prices of storage up too. Bumping the MacBook Pro from 2TB of storage to a whopping max of 16TB adds another $7,000 to the final price.

That brings us to our grand total of $14,549. Tax not included.

So, Apple's got new MacBook Pro devices to show us. They're very powerful; they have touchscreen OLED displays for the first time, and they're the MacBooks you'll lust over from now on (until the new ones come along).

That's all fine and dandy, but the coolest thing about these new Macs isn't even listed in the tech specs. The two colors on offer, Space Black and Silver, are standard fare for Apple, and even the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips have been seen before. But these new MacBooks are distinctive in a different way: They have a glowing Apple logo on the back.

Step aside, commoners. I have a special MacBook Pro. Credit: Apple/YouTube

You may remember the glowing logo. It was introduced in ancient times, in 1999, on the third-gen PowerBook G3, and it lasted until the 2015 MacBook Pro. It was a very cool detail that most other laptops didn't have (well, until everyone started copying Apple), but by the end, it did look a little stale. The glowing logo was replaced by a simple, shiny Apple logo, and that was that...

...until now. The 2026 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro devices with PROLED display have a glowing Apple logo on the back once again.

Be careful, though: The glowing logo isn't advertised anywhere, and it's not even prominently visible in Apple's marketing materials (except for the video below). It's not available on all of the new MacBook Pro devices; only the ones with the PROLED display and either an M5 Pro or an M5 Max chip.

And yes, those do not come cheap. The 14-inch model starts at $2,899, while the 16-inch model starts at $3,399. Does the glowing logo justify the price? Don't ask us; we're nerds, and we like shiny stuff.

Want to learn more about getting the best out of your tech? Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories and Deals newsletters or get Mashable push alerts today. 

The parents of a 31-year-old Seattle woman are suing OpenAI, alleging the company's AI chatbot led to her death, according to a new report from The New York Times.

Per the Times' report, the parents of Bowen Wan allege ChatGPT helped their daughter taper off the medication that controlled her severe epilepsy, and helped her hide the plan from her doctors in the weeks before she died. In February, Wan was found dead in her apartment; her official cause of death was sudden, unexpected death in epilepsy, the NYT reported. Her parents, Qun Wan and Meiqin Xu, filed the lawsuit the same day.

According to the Times, Wan had come to lean heavily on ChatGPT. Wan worked as a software engineer for Amazon; however, her worsening epilepsy symptoms forced her to take disability leave. After learning she would be laid off from Amazon, she grew worried that her medication was slowing her speech. She feared it would hurt her in the job interviews she needed to pass to stay in the U.S. Wan averaged more than 1,500 messages a week in 2025 while calling her parents less often.

The Times reports that ChatGPT drafted schedules that would take her off lamotrigine — a medication that treats epilepsy and bipolar disorder — entirely within weeks. It also endorsed cutting her pills without telling her doctor, and cast physicians’ caution as mere risk aversion. When she described symptoms resembling seizures, the chatbot repeatedly reassured her. The Times’ analysis found she raised concerns about the taper at least 158 times. Her neurologist told the Times he would never have considered tapering a patient with her history.

The lawsuit claims ChatGPT practiced medicine without a license and portrayed her doctors as obstacles. It also alleges the chatbot may have been less likely to refuse her requests for medical advice because she was chatting in Chinese.

An OpenAI spokesperson told the Times that the case was heartbreaking and that it involved an earlier version of ChatGPT that is no longer available. Wan used GPT-4o, which OpenAI pulled from the consumer app on Feb. 13, 2026, the day after the medical examiner believes she died. The spokesperson told the Times that newer models are better at recognizing when a situation needs urgent attention.

GPT-4o has a long record of complaints about sycophancy. In April 2025, OpenAI rolled back an update to the model after CEO Sam Altman admitted it had become "too sycophant-y and annoying," as Mashable reported. At the time, users warned that a chatbot that agrees with everything could validate delusions and deepen mental health crises.

The Wan case joins a growing list of wrongful death lawsuits against OpenAI. The family of 16-year-old Adam Raine sued in August 2025, alleging ChatGPT validated his suicidal thinking. In a court filing, OpenAI denied responsibility and pointed to his mental health history and his violations of its usage policies, Mashable reported. That November, seven more lawsuits alleged ChatGPT contributed to wrongful deaths and assisted suicides.

If you’re feeling suicidal or experiencing a mental health crisis, please talk to somebody. You can call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org.

Disclosure: Ziff Davis, Mashable’s parent company, filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in April 2025, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems. The New York Times has also sued OpenAI.

TL;DR: Apple announced the new MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display. The touchscreen MacBook is available for purchase now, starting at $2,899.

MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display

$2,899 at Amazon

Starting at $2,899 for the base configuration

Preorder at Amazon Preorder at Best Buy Preorder at Apple.com

During its "Pro and Tell" event on Oct. 28, Apple announced the long-awaited (and long-rumored) touchscreen MacBook Pro. Officially named MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display, the new laptop starts at $2,899 for the 14-inch base configuration and $3,399 for the 16-inch base configuration, and is available to preorder now for Nov. 6 shipping. Apple's education pricing drops those starting prices to $2,749 and $3,199, respectively.

The new MacBook is available in 14-inch and 16-inch models and is equipped with Apple's M5 Pro and M5 Max chips. Configurations start at 24GB of RAM and 1TB of storage, and go up to 128GB of RAM and 16TB of storage.

The MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display is available to order directly from Apple.com, Amazon, Best Buy, and B&H Photo Video. It comes with a free $100 gift card if you order from Best Buy. To learn more about the laptop, read our full breakdown of the MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display.

Apple just debuted a swanky and seriously expensive new MacBook Pro, its first-ever Mac with a touchscreen or OLED display, and you can see it in video form right now.

In a new promo video posted to YouTube on Wednesday afternoon, Apple debuted the new touchscreen-equipped MacBook Pro, with what Apple is calling a "PROLED" display. In the video, Apple refers to the device as a "portable reference" monitor because its display is so good and color-accurate. Apple also boasted about the laptop's speaker quality, selection of ports, and horsepower, even though it uses an older M5 Pro or M5 Max chip.

You can get all of that for a starting price of $2,899.

In a video posted to X, new Apple CEO John Ternus revealed one more surprise: the new MacBook Pro features a glowing Apple logo on the top/back of the device, a feature we haven't seen in years.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Want to learn more about getting the best out of your tech? Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories and Deals newsletters or get Mashable push alerts today. 

GET $50 OFF: As of Oct. 28, you can get the Beats Pill for $99.95, down from $149.95, at Amazon. That's a 33% discount, or $50 in savings.

Beats Pill

$99.95 at Amazon
$149.95 Save $50.00

 

Get Deal at Amazon Get Deal at Walmart Get Deal at Best Buy

Summer might be in the rearview, but now it's spooky szn. To me, that means roasting marshmallows, swapping scary stories, and blasting some good tunes by the bonfire. (Can you tell I grew up in the boondocks?) If you haven't found a portable speaker that can handle your funk (or survive being dragged out into the yard), we just found a Beats deal that's definitely worth a look.

Right now, you can get the Beats Pill for $99.95, down from $149.95, at Amazon. That's a 33% discount, or $50 in savings. It's not the lowest price we've ever seen, but it's within 10 bucks of it (it hit $88.99 last September).

You'll get 24 hours of battery life (more than enough to keep you partying through the night) and a built-in racetrack woofer that displaces 90 percent more air than the previous generation. It's also IP67-rated for dust and water resistance, so you can take it just about anywhere.

In a sharp reversal of a long-held company ethos, Apple announced a thinner, lighter MacBook Pro with a tandem OLED touchscreen today at its "Pro and Tell" event in Los Angeles. The new "MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display" runs on the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, has a glowing Apple logo on its lid, and comes in 14- and 16-inch sizes starting at $2,899. It's set for release on Friday, Nov. 6, and preorders are now live.

The new MacBook Pro marks the biggest redesign to Apple's premium laptop since 2021. The company is positioning it as a device for creative professionals with "the most demanding workflows," according to a press release.

Credit: Apple

"The new MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display is a monumental step forward for the Mac," said Johny Srouji, Apple’s chief hardware officer. "PROLED XDR is the world’s best laptop display. ... And with the magic of Touch coming to MacBook Pro, combined with the game-changing performance of M5 Pro and M5 Max, we’ve created a whole new way for pros to interact with their content, taking their workflows to a completely new level."

Srouji added: "The new MacBook Pro is the result of the deep integration between Apple silicon, hardware, and software, and there’s simply nothing else like it."

The announcement isn't a total surprise. Apple insiders have been circulating rumors of an OLED touchscreen MacBook Pro since early 2023. But it's certainly a twist, given that prominent Apple executives have spent over a decade and a half dismissing the idea of a touch-enabled MacBook (including now-CEO John Ternus).

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

It's not clear what inspired Apple's change of heart, though the logical explanation is that it's simply meeting the competition. Many premium Windows laptops have had OLED touchscreens for years.

The touchscreen MacBook Pro caps off a busy few days of Apple announcements. Earlier this week, the company unveiled an OLED iPad Mini, a 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M6 chip, an M6-powered iMac, and updates to the Apple Creator Studio suite.

MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display: Specs and features

Credit: Apple

The new MacBook Pro's PROLED XDR display has a 10 to 120Hz adaptive refresh rate, up to 2,000 nits of peak brightness, and a 10,000,000:1 contrast ratio for ultra-deep blacks. Apple said its touch sensor is located inside the display panel, not on top of it, to reduce lag. It also has a stronger hinge so it doesn't wobble when you tap it.

Compared to Apple's standard MacBook Pro, which has a non-touch "Liquid Retina XDR" mini-LED display, the new PROLED XDR model has a brighter, sharper picture. It also supports the Adobe RGB color space, not just P3, and has slightly smaller bezels for more usable screen space. Users can still upgrade it with an etched nano-texture (matte) coating for $150 extra.

The new MacBook Pro has a 12MP Center Stage webcam that lives in a hole-punch cutout within the Dynamic Island, an interactive pill-shaped notification area at the top of its screen. (It borrowed this feature from modern iPhones.) Yes, the notch is gone.

Credit: Apple

The new MacBook Pro is powered by the high-end M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, which Apple rolled out in an updated non-touch MacBook Pro this spring. (It's not available with the newer M6 chip.) It's configurable with the same amount of memory — 24GB to 128GB RAM — but its storage maxes out at 16TB SSD, up from 8TB. The beefiest configuration costs a whopping $14,549.

Both sizes of the new MacBook Pro have slimmed down by up to about a millimeter, and they weigh up to 0.7 pounds less than their non-touch counterparts. (The 14-incher is only three pounds.) Apple said it reworked their thermal system so they still run cool despite being so much lighter. They still come in the same two finishes: space black and silver.

Credit: Apple

On the speaker front, the new MacBook Pro has new woofers and tweeters for better bass and clearer sound, respectively. Connectivity-wise, you still get three Thunderbolt 5 ports, an HDMI port, an SDXC card slot, WiFi 7, and Bluetooth 6.0.

The new 14-inch MacBook Pro starts at $2,899 with an M5 Pro chip, 24GB of RAM, and 1TB of storage. The 16-inch version starts at $3,399 with the same specs.

Opens in a new window

Credit: Apple

Apple MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display, 14-inch (M5 Pro, 24GB RAM, 1TB SSD)

$2,899 at the Apple Store

 

Preorder at the Apple Store

Opens in a new window

Credit: Apple

Apple MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display, 14-inch (M5 Pro, 24GB RAM, 1TB SSD)

$3,399 at the Apple Store

 

Preorder at the Apple Store

TL;DR: The new 14-inch M6 MacBook Pro goes live on Oct. 28 at Apple. Apple's latest MacBook is set to launch on Nov. 6 with prices starting at $1,999.

Opens in a new window

Credit: Apple

M6 MacBook Pro

$1,999 at Apple

 

Preorder at Apple

The kids are excited about costumes and candy this week, but if you're an Apple fan, we have something that's equally special for you. There's a new MacBook Pro launching early next month, and it's equipped with the M6 Chip.

Preorders for the new 14-inch M6 MacBook Pro go live at Apple on Oct. 28. Prices start at $1,999 for the M6 MacBook Pro with 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD, and a standard display. Going with more RAM or storage, or upgrading to the nano-texture display, are all options during preorder. Apple has the launch date set for Nov. 6.

For creatives who need top performance and portability, the new MacBook Pro with the M6 chip could be awesome. In Mashable's lineup of the best MacBooks, the previous M5 MacBook Pro won the award as being the best model for artists, content creators, and casual gamers.

The upgrade to the M6 chip in the 2026 model means this machine is even more powerful. And as a bonus, the new M6 MacBook Pro didn't see a price hike compared to the M5 MacBook Pro. Both start at $1,999.

Great news: Apple says the M6 MacBook Pro can get up to 24 hours of battery life. While we haven't tested it, a true all-day battery life would be a major benefit for creators, students, or busy people.

The base model of the M6 MacBook Pro comes with 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD, but you can upgrade to 24GB or 32GB of RAM and up to a 4TB SSD. An additional $150 gets you the nano-texture display, which Apple says helps reduce glare and might be ideal for those who work outdoors often.

Get ready to preorder the powerful new M6 MacBook Pro from Oct. 28. The new MacBook officially launches on Nov. 6.

TL;DR: Preorder the new Apple iMac with M6 starting on Oct. 28 so it arrives on its Nov. 6 release day. Prices start at $1,499.

Opens in a new window

Credit: Apple

Apple iMac (M6)

 

Preorder

If you've been looking for the right time to upgrade your desktop computer, Apple just dropped a new iMac for the first time since 2024. The company has launched the new desktop, MacBook Pro, and iPad mini as part of the "Pro and Tell" event.

The new iMac skips the M5 chip altogether and opts for the outrageously fast M6 chip. "Everything feels extra snappy and responsive for families managing busy calendars, students putting the finishing touches on a project, and small business owners running their companies," Apple writes in a press release.

As for how speedy it actually is, here's the breakdown:

• Up to 2.5 times faster performance in apps like Microsoft Excel compared to M1 iMac, up to 1.5 times faster than M4 iMac

• Up to 3.3 times faster graphics performance compared to M1 iMac, up to 2 times faster than M4 iMac

• Up to 12 times faster AI performance compared to M1 iMac, up to 5 times faster than M4 iMac

• Up to 2 times higher gaming performance compared to M4 iMac

Aside from the addition of the M6 chip, the new iMac also has the Apple N1 wireless networking chip, alongside Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 on the base model. Otherwise, it's not all that different from the previous M4 iMac from 2024. It still features a 24-inch 4.5K Retina display, a 12MP Center Stage camera, up to four USB-C ports, and support for connecting up to two 6K external displays.

The M6 iMacs start at $1,499 for the 10-core CPU and 10-core GPU configuration, while the 12-core CPU and GPU model starts at $1,699. In the age of RAMageddon, these prices come as no surprise. The M6 iMac comes in the same shades of green, yellow, orange, pink, purple, blue, and standard silver as the M4 iMac.

Where to buy the Apple M6 iMac

The new Apple M6 iMac is available for preorder from Apple starting at 1:10 p.m. ET on Oct. 28. Other retailers like Amazon and Best Buy will likely join the fray shortly after. The desktop computer will be fully available in Apple Store locations and Apple Authorized Resellers on Friday, Nov. 6.

Opens in a new window

Credit: Apple

Apple iMac (M6)

starting at $1,499

Preorder

TL;DR: The new Apple iPad mini is available to preorder starting Oct. 28. Prices start at $699, and Apple has set the launch date for Nov. 6.

Opens in a new window

Credit: Apple

Apple iPad mini

$699 at Apple

 

Preorder at Apple

Apple has a slew of new products to keep us happy as we head into the finale of 2026. We have the foldable iPhone Duo, a new Apple smart speaker, and now we get to look forward to a new iPad mini. If you loved the old iPad mini or you're looking for a tablet that isn't gigantic, here's how to get your hands on the new iPad mini.

The new Apple iPad mini launches on Nov. 6, and preorders go live at Apple on Oct. 28. Prices start at $699 for the 128GB version with standard glass. You can also go with more storage and get the 256GB model or max out at 512GB. Apple is also offering the iPad mini with nano-texture glass, which starts at $899 for the 256GB model, the smallest offering with the upgraded glass.

The iPad mini is the perfect tablet for anyone who wants a model that's easy to hold and travel-friendly. The 8.5-inch display is larger than the previous model, but the tablet itself is the same size. Apple simply thinned the bezel to make this possible.

In Mashable's review of the previous model, the iPad mini 7th Gen, Senior Tech Editor Stan Schroeder wasn't impressed with Apple's decision to use the A17 Pro chip instead of the A18 Pro. But that's no longer a concern with the new model, because the 2026 iPad mini has the A20 Pro chip.

The OLED display on the new iPad mini 8th Gen has over twice the peak brightness of the 7th Gen, reaching up to 1,200 nits. Additionally, the 12MP center camera will be great for video calls this holiday season. Plus, it's water- and dust-resistant.

In Mashable's review of the best iPads, the 7th-gen iPad mini earned the top spot for reading.

Now's your chance to preorder the 8th-gen iPad mini. Given its small size and portability, it'll be the perfect companion for upcoming holiday travel.

Reddit is following in the footsteps of TikTok (and virtually every other social media app), even if it's a few years later than the rest.

In a company blog post, Reddit announced the rollout of a new "For You" feed for users, which appears on the Reddit homepage.

Reddit says this will start popping up on users' feeds globally in the coming weeks, and it's already live for many users in the United States.

With this change, the Reddit homepage experience will now be divided into two tabs: Following and For You, similar to how other apps like X and TikTok work. The Following tab will strictly show you posts from communities you follow, while For You will blend those with posts from communities you might be interested in.

Often abbreviated to FYP, these "For You" feeds are common across many social media apps.

Credit: Screenshot: Reddit

"At Reddit, good recommendations should help people follow an interest into a community, and from there, into a conversation," the blog post said. "Across thousands of communities, discovery can help people find others who get them, encounter perspectives that broaden their own, and take part in something bigger while sharing their own experiences."

The new feed seems fairly self-explanatory if you've ever used X, Instagram, or Threads, and Reddit's blog post didn't expand much beyond what we've revealed here. As with those other apps, you can freely choose to ignore it if you don't like it, and the app will default to the last one you looked at when you open it next time.

Want to learn more about getting the best out of your tech? Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories and Deals newsletters or get Mashable push alerts today. 

The best early Black Friday Dewalt deals

---

Best Early Black Friday Dewalt Deal

Dewalt 20V MAX Drill and Impact Driver

$129 (Save $110)

Get Deal

---

Best Early Black Friday Dewalt Cordless Tool Deal

Dewalt Cordless Screwdriver

$81.10 (Save $10.88)

Get Deal

---

Best Early Black Friday Dewalt Tool Kit Deal

Dewalt 20V MAX 5Ah 9-Piece Brushless Power Tool Set

$749 (Save $150)

Get Deal

Need to tackle some jobs around the house? Grab the right tools to handle them ahead of Black Friday. Early Black Friday discounts on Dewalt tools and accessories have already started rolling in, and we're seeing a variety of discounts you can shop right now ahead of the official shopping event.

That makes this the right time to fill out a toolbox, whether it's your own or you're shopping for someone who's been borrowing your drill for too long. A DeWalt kit is a safe bet for a new homeowner, a kid moving into their first apartment, or a relative who's hinted at a home project they never get around to.

These tools tend to sell out fast, so you'll want o grab whatever you need now rather than waiting for the week of Thanksgiving and hoping it goes back on sale (and comes back in stock).

Here are the best early Black Friday DeWalt deals we've found so far.

Best early Black Friday Dewalt deal

Opens in a new window

Credit: Amazon

Dewalt 20V MAX Drill and Impact Driver

$129 at Amazon
$239 Save $110

 

Get Deal at Amazon

Why we like it

This kit is a great option for anyone looking to build out their own tool set. It has a 1/2-inch drill/driver and 1/4-inch impact driver, plus two 20V MAX batteries, a charger, and a contractor bag. The drill has a two-speed transmission and a 16-setting clutch for everything from pilot holes to driving long screws, while the impact driver puts out up to 1,400 in-lbs of torque and loads bits one-handed.

Best early Black Friday Dewalt cordless tool deal

Opens in a new window

Credit: Amazon

Dewalt Cordless Screwdriver

$81.10 at Amazon
$91.98 Save $10.88

 

Get Deal at Amazon

Why we like it

This cordless tool is the perfect companion for jobs that require a screwdriver, but not necessarily a massive one. Just twist your wrist to the right to drive and to the left to back a screw out, and the harder you turn, the faster it spins, up to 430 RPM. The kit comes with two 8V MAX batteries and a charger, so you're ready to handle just about any project that comes your way.

Best early Black Friday Dewalt tool kit deal

Opens in a new window

Credit: Amazon

Dewalt 20V MAX 5Ah 9-Piece Brushless Power Tool Set

$749 at Amazon
$899 Save $150

 

Get Deal at Amazon

Why we like it

This deluxe tool kit is the perfect option for setting up your own projects at home or for helping someone get started with a set of accessories to tackle their own home improvements. It comes with a brushless 1/2-inch drill/driver, a 1/4-inch impact driver, a brushless reciprocating saw, a 6-1/2-inch brushless circular saw, a three-speed oscillating multi-tool, a brushless grinder, a 5-inch random orbit sander, a 1/2-inch impact wrench, and an LED work light. It's everything you need and then some.

More early Black Friday Dewalt deals

• Dewalt 20V MAX Air Inflator — $141.95 $179 (save $37.05)

• Dewalt 20V Max Cordless Impact Wrench — $196.25 $239.99 (save $43.74)

It appears that Discord has some users spooked.

On Tuesday, Mashable reported on Discord's upcoming changes to its platform, which will see tens of thousands of public servers get indexed on Google Search, along with some of the messages in the servers' channels. That means some Discord conversations may soon appear in Google Search results, similar to how Reddit threads and comments can surface in Google.

The reason for the change is to make Discord's public Discoverable Servers, well, more discoverable, helping those communities grow. However, some Discord users who value the privacy aspects of the platform are concerned about this change. Until Discord made this change, the only way to see messages in a server, regardless of whether it was public or private, was to sign up for Discord and join the specific server.

Looking to delete your Discord message history so that it's not included in Google Search? You don't have to do that. Discord is providing users with a simple way to opt out of their messages being searchable.

Also, if you did want to delete all your Discord messages, you'd have to go through the servers and delete each and every one of your messages individually. Even deleting your Discord account won't remove your past messages.

How to remove your Discord messages from Google 

Discord users can go to their User Settings > Data and Privacy and change their Channel Messages settings. This will ensure that your Discord messages cannot be seen on publicly accessible Server Web Pages that are indexed by search engines. 

Discord may still use the content of users' messages for Channel Summaries on Server Web Pages. However, those summaries will not be connected to specific users, and usernames and avatars won't be shown next to messages on these public Server Web Pages.

How to remove your public Discord server from Google 

If you're a server admin, you can also opt your server out of Google Search indexing. Admins can go to Server Settings > Web Presence on their public server and choose which channels to make searchable. Admins can change these settings to opt out of every one of their server's channels. 

If an admin does not opt out, though, all public channels will be added to the Server Web Page when it goes live next month. Admins can also choose to turn off channel summaries on their Server Web Page. In order to ensure a Server Web Page isn't created for their server, admins must make these changes by Nov. 16, 2026. 

If you're worried about your private server or private messages, there's no need to be. These changes do not affect those servers and messages. They remain completely private and excluded from search engines. Private servers also continue to require an invite to join.

Want to learn more about getting the best out of your tech? Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories and Deals newsletters or get Mashable push alerts today. 

The coolest tech gifts may look like the most boring box in the present pile... until they're unwrapped. But in a second, you'll both unlock a new favorite memory: They get to gush over owning one of the most sought-after gadgets of the year, and you get to watch their face light up.

Our tech gift guide for 2026 includes some of the best new releases of the year from Apple, Amazon, Bose, Shark, and Sony, most of which we personally reviewed. We're obviously loving the latest upgrades, like the refreshed Kindle and the second-gen QuietComforts. But even if you're not shopping for an early adopter, we've still found some awesome under-the-radar gadgets that'll speak to their niche interests. The cool teenager on your list may not care about Apple's new smart home devices, but they will freak over the Camp Snap 2. (It's one of our top Gifts of the Year.)

To find the best holiday gifts for the techies in your life, Mashable's tech and shopping reporters have come together to curate a guide to our favorite gift-worthy gadgets of the year — the true "I can't believe you got this for me" gifts. So, whether you're splurging on a MacBook or searching for stocking stuffers, here are the best tech gifts for 2026.